


Far away

by elareine



Series: Advent Calendar 2019 [25]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas, Declarations Of Love, Fluff, Insecurity, M/M, New Relationship, Skype, Space Flight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:08:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21959383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elareine/pseuds/elareine
Summary: The first thing Jason asked when the console in front of Tim finally managed to connect them via video-link was: “Everything alright?”
Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Series: Advent Calendar 2019 [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558834
Comments: 7
Kudos: 181





	Far away

**Author's Note:**

> Advent calendar day twenty-five: Christmas.

The first thing Jason asked when the console in front of Tim finally managed to connect them via video-link was: “Everything alright?” 

Tim knew the question wasn’t nearly as casual as it sounded and replied in kind: “Yeah. Everyone is alive if bruised. There were explosions, you’d have liked it. You?” 

“Fewer explosions than I’d have preferred, but also fewer bruises than I expected, so it’s all good.” Relaxing, Jason leaned back into his chair. 

Tim blinked as he took in Jason’s appearance. He was honest-to-god wearing an ugly Christmas sweater depicting little bats. “I see you’re getting into the Christmas spirit at last.” 

“Hmm, kind of. How long until you get back?” 

“There’s one more stop, but we’ll stay in communication range. ETA on Earth is twenty-two hours right now, subject to change. You know, aliens, pirates, alien pirates, the usual.” 

Weirdly, Jason looked amused more than anything else. “You’ll make it for New Year’s Eve, then?” 

“Yeah, of course.” Tim suddenly had a horrible thought. “Wait, what day is it on Earth?” 

Judging by Jason’s grin, that was the right question to ask. “December 25th.” He made a show of glancing at his clock. “Barely. It’s 11:49 p.m.” 

Ah, the joys of space travel. Tim sighed. “It’s been five days here.” Leave it to him. Only Tim would manage to be in a relationship for two weeks and then accidentally fuck off for three more. 

“I figured. So. Merry Christmas, babe. I’ll leave your present for when you’re back if you don’t mind. Kinda hard to unpack from space.” Jason winked. 

Tim thought he could just feel his heart swell with love for this ridiculous human being. “Yeah. Same, though I left mine in Gotham. Obviously.”

“What, I’m not getting the space equivalent of a gas station teddy bear?” Jason laughed. “I’m honored.” 

“Well…. I _might_ have picked something up when we occasioned to stop at Alpha Gamma 34…” 

Jason actually looked genuinely excited at the prospect. Tim couldn’t wait to show him the linguistics guide the seller had assured him would be easily understandable for anyone with a passable grasp of Tamaranian, which he knew Jason to be fluent him. His boyfriend would love it. 

For now, though, he settled back into his chair. “How was your day?” 

“I’ve mostly been cooking, honestly. Made a nice big meal for Kori, Artemis, Biz and me. There are always people dropping by, you know.” Those who didn’t celebrate or didn’t have someone to celebrate with, Tim guessed. “Roy and Lian stopped by, too, once he’d had enough of his family. Dick, too.”

“You didn’t go to the manor?” 

“It’s still pretty uncomfortable,” Jason shrugged. “And since you’re away, I didn’t think it would be worth it. Honestly, I celebrated more Christmases alone than I ever did at the manor, so.” 

Most Christmases in his own life had been spent alone or feeling like he was, Tim thought. That applied to both of them, though, and didn’t need saying. 

“Next year, okay? We’ll be that couple that goes to every single celebration together. Drop by Kon, Bart, and Cassie; eat Alfred’s food and then go spend the actual day with your team.” 

To his surprise, Jason blushed. 

He tried to hide it, of course, turning his head to the side and chuckling, mumbling something like, “Sure, let’s do that,” but Tim saw everything. 

“Jason?” he asked as gently as he could. “Why is that embarrassing? Too fast?” Tim had been told before that his all-or-nothing approach could come on too strong. Jason didn’t seem to have minded so far, but maybe this was a step too far. 

“No, just.” Jason actually _hid his face in his hands_. “I wasn’t aware you’re thinking that long-term with me.” 

Tim mentally aww-ed at the sight of his big buff boyfriend hiding his blushing face. His fingers twitched with the need to cover those hands with his own, pull them away so he could kiss that hot cheek and whisper what he was about to say next right into Jason’s ear.

(There was also a voice in the back of his head that was more determined than ever to find out about Jason’s previous dating experiences, because who thinks saying the phrase ‘next year we’ll…’ is long-term? Tim was going to do some first-class research/stalking, and then he might have to hurt some people.) 

“Of course. That’s what I mean when I say ‘I love you.’” 

Jason looked like he had stopped breathing. 

“I love you, Jason,” he repeated. “Neither of us is great at this, honestly, but when this is over, I want to come home to you, and have you do the same the next time you leave. I have no illusions about either of us; I want the sleepless nights and injuries and arguments and blood and nightmares. I want you to cook, and I’ll do the dishes. I want to fall asleep next to you every night, eventually. And yeah, I want to spend one of the few holidays that hold meaning to both of us with you. Is that really so surprising?”

Jason’s hands had fallen down as Tim spoke, and the look on his face… he looked completely open, vulnerable and disbelieving and joyful at the same time. 

It was heady, honestly, that someone would _want_ to hear this from him, want to be reassured that Tim would stay, would love them. That someone would want _Tim_. 

“I know telling you I’ll be gone for a week at most and then missing Christmas isn’t helpful in me showing you that I’m in this for the long run. I’ll do better, I promise. But believe me—“ 

“That’s just our life,” Jason interrupted him, his voice barely loud enough to be picked up over the mic, but sure. “All I had to do was check with the Bat about your destination and do the math myself. Don’t worry about it, okay?” He paused. “Unless it happens again. Then I’ll kick your ass.” 

Oh, Jason. Always trying to lighten his mood. 

“I love you,” Tim said, determined. He hadn’t realized that Jason needed to hear it, but now that he did, he was determined to say it again and again. 

Already he knew that he would say these words a thousand times more. He couldn’t wait. 

“I love you, too. And I like the thought of coming home to each other.” Jason’s smile was soft like a secret. 

Tim nodded. “I’ll see you soon.” 

In a fit of whimsy, he stretched out his hand to touch the screen, right next to the camera. Jason, the sap, reached right back. 

“Yeah. Soon.” 

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it for the advent calendar. Thank you so much to everyone who left kudos or a comment - it means more than you know. If you folks every want to request anything, hit me up on [tumblr](http://elareine.tumblr.com).
> 
> Regarding this fic... there might be a part two in the near future. After all, they got a date on New Year's Eve, don't they?


End file.
